Study questions drug-discount programs

NEW YORK — Over the last few years, many drug makers have offered coupons and co-payment-assistance programs as a way to reduce patients’ out-of-pocket spending on medications, but a new study questions whether they really reduce spending in the long run and whether they’re even legal.

The study, conducted by Yale University medical professor Joseph Ross and Harvard University public health professor Aaron Kesselheim and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, analyzed coupons for 374 branded drugs for a variety of conditions listed on InternetDrugCoupons.com. For 8% of the drugs, a cheaper drug that was therapeutically equivalent was available, but for 58% of the other products, there was a generic alternative in the same therapeutic class; in total, 62% of coupons were for branded drugs for which lower-cost alternatives were available.

"The widespread availability of coupons for brand-name pharmaceuticals that can be expected to be used long term and for which lower-cost alternatives are available has important implications for patients," the authors wrote. "Despite the short-term savings achievable with coupons, they do not offset higher long-term costs, because they’re nearly always time-delimited."

Ross and Kesselheim noted that some coupons can be used once, and others more than once, but few could be used for more than a year, and once a program ended, patients would have to pay normal copayments. But by that time, they may have acquired a brand loyalty, and physicians may be slow to switch them to alternatives. In addition, while coupons may reduce out-of-pocket costs for drugs, insurers still had to pay the higher cost.

The authors also cited pending lawsuits against drug manufacturers, alleging that coupons subvert cost-sharing arrangements in patients’ contracts with insurance companies and should be banned as illegal kickbacks.

Indian regulators clear $1.6 billion Mylan-Strides Arcolab deal

PITTSBURGH — Indian regulators have approved a deal from Mylan to buy the injectables business of Strides Arcolab, Mylan said Tuesday.

Following the approval of Agila by India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Mylan also received approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The deal is expected to close in fourth quarter 2013. Mylan announced its plan to buy Agila for $1.6 billion in February 2013.

"We are very pleased to have received all outstanding Indian pre-merger regulatory approvals for the Agila transaction, especially considering the increased government regulation and oversight with respect to foreign investment in India," Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said. "We look forward to completing the acquisition in the coming months, which we believe will establish Mylan as a global injectables leader, with a significantly expanded and strengthened injectables portfolio, pipeline, platform and capabilities."

Pharmaprix Run for Women series to come to Quebec City

QUEBEC CITY, Quebec — Shoppers Drug Mart, which operates under the Pharmaprix banner in Quebec, has announced that Canada’s first and only national women’s and girl’s running race series expanded to six cities.

The Pharmaprix Run for Women Series consists of a 5K, 10K and Little Steps Girls 1K, and includes a motivational talk from an iconic Canadian Olympian in each city. A portion of proceeds and participant donations will go towards women’s mental health programs in each of the six race cities.

The events kicked off on June 22 in Unionville, Ontario, and continued throughout the summer into September. In addition to Unionville (June 22), Vancouver (July 13) and Calgary (July 27), runs were in Halifax (Aug. 10) and Ottawa (Aug. 24). A run will be held in Quebec City on Sept. 21.
Five-time Paralympian, Chantal Petitclerc, is the featured speaker in Quebec City. She will speak to girls and women about being active and how they can succeed in the goals they set.

The event in Quebec City will support Fondation de l’Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec.

According to l’Institut de la statistique du Québec, 27% of women, aged 15 and older, have lived with a mental disorder at one time in their live. Major depression is the leading cause.

Postpartum depression affects about 20% of new mothers, 10% of women also will suffer from depression during pregnancy, not to mention that 1-out-of-1,000 will face a psychosis symptom during this period. Dr. Marie-Josée Poulin is familiar with these women. She is the leader of the only perinatal psychiatric clinic in the province based at l’Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec. Each year, Poulin follows between 300 and 350 women from the moment when they wish to have a baby until the child’s second birthday.

Other sponsors include Moving Comfort who will be offering bra-fitting clinics at Running Room stores leading up to each event.

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